Secluded Power
by Cracker Jack
Summary: When Numbah Four dicovers he's got some 'special' abilites, how will he cope with them? And what are these new feelings he's having for Kuki? Lotsa 34 fluff, hints of 15. Flames are fine. COMPLETE! FINISHED! DONE!
1. Cruddy Clock

**okey-doke everybody, here's my first fic. not my best work, I can tell you right now. like I said, flames are fine, so be honest. alrighty, then… deep breath here it goes! **

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Wallabee Beatles was not particularly bright. In a word, he was a complete idiot at times. But things like being stupid can't stop a person from falling in love…can it? Wally sighed and brushed his blond hair out of his eyes. I need a haircut, he thought idly, although he knew that in the back of his mind, there were quite a few things (and people) that he should be thinking about. Like Kuki Sanban, his teammate, and…love? No, not love. Crush, maybe, but not love. I can't love a cruddy girl, not at this age, he decided, easing in to a sitting position. He glanced at his alarm clock. 12:03 AM. I've been sitting here for four hours…he realized. Wally kicked off his covers and jumped off of his bed and onto the floor. I wonder if Kuki's up? He wondered hopefully, she's probably in bed at this hour. He had always thought Kuki was a beautiful name, but Kid's Next Door protocol required him to call her by her codename, Numbah Three, while working. He walked quietly out of his room, turning to look at the backwards '4' painted on his door as he stepped into the hallway.

"Numbah Four? What you doin' up? If yo' looking for Numbah Three, she's sleepin'. Everybody's sleepin', 'cept you an' me."

Wally jerked his head around to see who had addressed him, and relaxed when he realized it was only Abby. His teammate was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, a magazine in her hands. She wore a knee length knight gown and fuzzy royal blue slippers. He let out a sigh of relief as he said, "Ah'm not lookin' for Kuki. Ah just couldn't sleep…"

"Numbah Five knows what cha mean. I can't sleep eitha."

The two paused in an awkward silence for a moment, before Wally managed to say, "Ah'm gonna go get me some food. Would ya loike anythin'?"

"Nah, Numbah Five's just fine," She said, returning to her magazine.

"Alrigh'. Ah'll be back soon enough…" Wally said quietly as he walked stiffly down the hall way and into the kitchen. He lazily tugged open the fridge's door and searched its contents in hoped of finding something remotely edible and free of mold. A can of sprite caught his eye, and he grabbed it and swung the fridge door shut in one smooth motion, taking care not to shake the can.

He popped open the can and stared at the bubbling soda. He didn't want a drink; just an excuse to get out of his room. He raised the can to his lips and took a few small sips, glad, for the first time, that it was "Caffeine Free."

He gently put the can of soda on the kitchen table and yawned. He was so terribly tired, but why couldn't he sleep? Wally glanced anxiously at the clock that was sitting on the counter. 12:23 AM. Wally glared angrily at it, and, without thinking, swung his leg around in a side kick, hitting the clock with deadly precision that sent it flying down to the floor. The glass shattered, and Wally dodged a piece of flying glass, but in doing so, took a step back and flung his arms out for balance; his left arm hit a chair that was next to him with enough force to send in zooming into the wall. The chair hit the wall with a deafening BANG. A framed picture of the team on their first day that was hung by a nail on the wall came crashing to the floor, covering the ground with even more broken glass. "Cruddy clock," Wally muttered to himself, looking over the damage.

Numbah Five, upon hearing the noise, dropped her magazine and sprung to her feat, racing down the hall, expecting some kind of danger. She burst into the kitchen, and anxiously looked around. When she saw Numbah Four, her dark-chocolate brown eyes (that had been wide with terror only seconds ago) narrowed as she hissed in an angry whisper, "Are you crazy! If Numbah One finds out-"

"If Numbah One finds out what?"

Wally, now covering in shards of broken glass, jerked around to see his good friend and partner, Hoagie, standing in the doorway on the other side of the kitchen.

"Hey guys! You won't believe this, but I was in my room, and I heard this crash ant then- whoa…" he said, suddenly noticing the mess.

"Numbah Five thinks Wallabee's got some 'splainin' ta do," Abby said, chuckling as Wally sent her a warning glance because she had used his full name.

"Ah had a bit of an argument with the uh…alarm clock…" Wally admitted, his face turning a light shade of pick with embarrassment.

"It looks like the alarm clock had an argument with you!" Hoagie said, laughing as Abby plucked a piece of broken glass off of Wally's orange hoodie with a smirk.

"'Ey! Whatchit!" Wally yelled, a little too loudly. The three friends froze as loud, dominant footsteps made their way down the hallway. They traded nervous glances as they awaited their punishment. The footsteps undoubtedly belonged to their leader, Numbah One.

"Why hello, team." Numbah One (better known as 'Nigel') said coolly. Hoagie shied away from the door, giving his leader clear passage. Disregarding the mess, Nigel continued, his voice slow and calm, "Good to see you all up early." He glanced over to the spot where the clock had once been, and noticed it wasn't there. "That's odd," he said, glancing down to the floor to observe the mess, "It seems someone- or something- has broken my clock, my picture, and my chair."

Wally shot a glance at the chair, only to see that Nigel had been correct to call in 'broken'; one of the legs had come off, and the back board was slanted at an odd angle.

"Now, who could have done something like that?" He mused, already well aware of who had done it, and well aware of what was about to happen. He had little time to ready his ears for Wally's quick yet annoying apology, which he said in one breath:

"Ah'msosorryNumbahOneAhdidn'meantabreakanythin'Ahwasjustmad'causeAhcouldn'sleepand-"

Abby's hand flew over Numbah Four's mouth. "Alrigh', alrigh'. Yo' sorry, we get it. Now Numbah Five is goin' back ta read her magazine, if ya'll don' mind."

Nigel smiled at Abby as she walked out of the room, and then glanced at Wally. He smirked at him, as if to say, 'I'm not mad, just amused.'

Wally grinned at him, and cocked his head in confusion as Nigel's gaze moved from Wally's face to his arm.

Hoagie followed Nigel's gaze, and immediately whispered, "Oh my…"

Wally stared at the two of them for a moment, raising a questioning eyebrow (although it couldn't be seen under his hair). When they continued to look at his arm, he grew curious, and decided to take a look for himself. He gaped at what he saw and swore quite loudly. There was a large, blotch of blood on his hoodie where a shard of glass had ripped the cloth and made a very deep gash on his fore arm.

"Well, we had best go patch you up," Nigel sighed. Hoagie shuddered, tearing his eyes away from the gory sight that was Wally's arm. Nigel remembered how squeamish Hoagie was, and told him quietly, "Why don't I take care of Numbah Four, while you go wake up Numbah Three? We're all up anyway. May as well have an early breakfast."

Hoagie nodded, grateful that he didn't have to deal with the blood. He set off down the hallway at a trot, going by Abby, who simply glanced up at him before returning to her magazine. He jogged up to Numbah Three's curtain-door and called, "Numbah Three! We're all up and we were gonna have an early breakfast!" He paused, waiting for a response. When none came, he added, "I'll race ya to the kitchen!" He smiled wickedly, waiting for Kuki to come and meet his challenge. "That's funny," He said to Abby, who sitting a little farther up the hall, "That usually gets her up. She always races with me."

"And she always wins," Abby said, slowly getting up and sauntering over to Numbah Three's curtain. "Kuki, c'mon. Numbah Five is serious. Get out here." When there was no answer, Abby scowled. Without hesitation, the pulled the curtain out of the way with her arm and walked briskly in to the room. After a quick surveillance of the room, Abby's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She then stuttered (which was very unusual for Abby), "She-she's not-she isn't here…"

Hoagie stepped in after her, and soon realized she was right. "Guys!" He called for Nigel and Wally, "There's something I think you should see, like, right now!"

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**Well, that's chapter one. . wOOt! sorry it's kinda short. I'm just getting started. R&R pweease! And uh…flames are okay. just dont go crazy flamin' me just cuz I said ya could. rock on, guys!**

**cracker jack, OUT **


	2. Don't Jump

**anouncer: ladies and gentlemen. the cracker jack theater proudly presents-dah dah dah DAH -CHAPTER TWO!** **audience: -applauds and cheers-  
O.O  
me: since when do I have an audience here!  
audience: -cheers-  
me: SHUT UP!  
audience: -silence-  
me: ALRIGHTY THEN! -ahem- _moving on_...**

**_disclaimer: I uh...um...uh..._**

**fat guy in frontrow of audience:OOH, I KNOW!YOU DON'T OWN THE KND!**

**O.O um, sure. thanks, fat guy.**

**_disclaimer: uh...right...I don't own the KND. I do, however, own an entier audience of imaginary people._**

**audience: HEY!**

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Wally examined his bandage. There was a dot of blood where his cut had bled through. Nigel had told him before hand to change into a short sleeved shirt, so the sleeves wouldn't interfere with his bandaging. Wally had picked out a dark green tee that he rarely wore andthat was ready toget stained by blood. He had been seated in an old wooden chair that they kept in the infirmary next to theother, newer chairs, swinging his legs idly.

"Well," Nigel said calmly, as he stood up, wiping his now-bloody-hands on a towel, "You're as good as new, Numbah Four."

Wally opened his mouth to say 'Thanks,' when Hoagie's yelling broke the silence, "Guys! There's something you should see, like, _right now!"_

Wally sprung up from his chair (a soft _'bang' _from behind told him that he had broken it), sped out of the infirmary, down the winding hallways of the tree house, andstraight to Numbah Three's room. He whipped past the curtain and stopped dead.He opened his mouth to swear, but all that came out was a soft squeak.He had been expecting the worst; the worsthad happened.Numbah Three was no where in sight. Breathing hard from his run, he turned to Abby and managed to gasp, "We-have-to-go-after-her…"

"We don' know whare she is. We gonna have ta wait till the gurl comes back on her own," Abby said, although disbelief was evident in her voice.

"Numbah Five is right, team," Nigel said, now fighting to re-gain his leadership-like composure, although he was undoubtedly worried. "We are going to have to waitfor her return. Numbahs Two and Four- stand guard here, in case she comes back. Numbah Five and I will search the tree house."

As Nigel and Abby stepped out of the room, Hoagie elbowed Wally and whispered loudly enough for their leader to hear as well, "You ever notice how Numbah One always goes with Numbah Five when we split up?"

"I heard that!" Nigel yelled from the hallway. And while Hoagie couldn't see his leader, he already knew that, at this point, Nigel was blushing.

Hoagie broke out in fits of laughter. When Wally didn't join in, he turned to see what was wrong. He asked quietly, "You okay, man?"

Wally just stood, eyes not visible under his hair, not even listening. Hoagie looked on, beginning to feel slightly scared, and suddenly aware of what Wally what capable of doing when he was angry.

"Ah'm not goin' ta stand 'ere waitin' for somethin' bad ta happen ta Kuki. Ah'm goin' afta her." Wally said, his voice hardly audible.

"But Numbah Four," Hoagie said, not caring to lower his naturally loud voice, "We've got orders! Numbah One wouldn't-" Hoagie's jaw dropped as the Aussie swiveled around so he was facing the window. "Wait- Numbah Four! Don't…..jump…." But Hoagie's warning was too late. Wally had climbed out the open window and disappeared from view. Hoagie gaped at the window for a moment before he jogged over to it and stuck his head out. He sighed with relief as he noticed that Wally, being the extremely athletic person that he was, hadn't jumped; he had climbed. Wally had his hands and the toes of his shoes (which hehad left on when he went to bed, as he had many times before)holding expertly onto the bark of the tree house,and wasclimbing steadily downward.

Upon seeing Hoagie's shocked expression, Wally stated, "Don' tell Numbah One about what Ah'm doin'. Ah'm sure he'd disagree with it-" Wally dropped his left foot and lowered his right hand's grip, dropping down once more. "An' don' tell Numbah Five either-" he dropped down again, "Ah'll be back eventually. If Numbah One asks questions, make up some kinda story for meh."

Hoagie let out a long sigh and stepped away from the window. He sat down on Kuki's soft, pink bed and began to think up a story to cover for Wally. "Okay…" He murmured to himself, sleep beginning toquickly overpower him, "So the rabid chipmunk with the…the…" he yawned. "The left hand, and then my mom says…about a leprechaun with a pocket knife…" He fought to keep his eyes open, but he knew he was fighting a loosing battle; one that his eyelids were about to win. "And then at the picnic….Smokey…The Bear…" His eyes closed. "AndSanta tookthe bunny's tutu…." He fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

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Kuki loved to take walks at night. Every so often when she felt she needed to clear her head, she would wait until she was sure that everyone was asleep, take her walkman and headphones, and sneak out of the tree house. She loved the feeling of freedom; the knowledge that she could go anywhere, do anything, so long as she did it that night.

She walked down the sidewalk until she got to the park. Kuki looked around for a moment until she found her favorite bench. She plopped down on the old, wooden bench, and put her walkman on 'pause' so she could listen to the silence.

She had been overwhelmed by so many strange thoughts lately. Thoughts like, _Wally looks cute when he's mad, _and _Numbah Four has the nicest, emerald green eyes… _At times, she wondered if the thoughts were even hers. "That's silly," She told herself quietly, "How could you be thinking thoughts that aren't yours?"

She shifted her weight to her left side and laid down on the bench. Then, just as she was about to shut her eyes and doze off, a small noise caught her attention. He eyes shot open. When she heard the sound a second time, she realized it was the sound of dead leaves cracking and breaking. It was fall, so stepping on dead leaves was unavoidable. _It's like someone's walking toward me…_She thought, sitting up. Her eyes darted around, searching for any sign of movement.

When she saw something move swiftly in the corner of her eye, she swiveled around so quickly that it hurt. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times, not quite believing what she was seeing- or, more accurately, _who. _"Numbah Four!"

Sure enough, there was Wally, with a tee shirt on (it had to be thirty degrees out, maybe less) and a bandage one his arm. "'Ey, Kuki," he said, blushing slightly.

"Wally, why- what happened to your arm?" She asked, getting up and walking over to him, worry evident in her voice and on her face.

"It's nothing', Kooks," he assured her, his voice barley more than a whisper, "Ah was so worried 'bout ya…"

Kuki took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry," she told him, her voice almost as quiet as his, "You can tell me about it on the way back to the tree house."

Wally smiled gratefully, and gave her hand a loving squeeze. "Yeah," he said, sighing, "Let's go home."

And so the two walked in silence for a while. Wally explained to Kuki exactly what happened to his arm and in the kitchen.

"It's a shame…" Kuki said thoughtfully, "I really liked that picture. We'll have to find a new frame for it…"

"Tomorrow," Wally promised. He paused, and then asked, "Do ya rememba our first day in Secta V?" A smile played across his face.

"How could I forget?" she said, her eyes flashing mischievously.

_.:Flash Back:._

_"Alright, then, Sector V! We should probably introduce ourselves, and well, I'm leader, so…I'll go first. My name is Nigel Uno. My codename is Numbah One. Who's next?" Nigel said, clearly excited to meet his new team._

_"Uh…I'll g-go next," Hoagie suggested. He had been a lot less outgoing then, and a lot more overweight. Not to mention the fact that hehad never beenvery good at making friends to begin with. "M-my name's h-Hoagie P. g-Gilligan Jr. ...an-and my c-codename is Numbah t-Two." _

_"Numbah Five will go next," Abby offered, putting her hands on her hips and lifting her chin so her team could see her face, which was usually hidden by her red hat; she rarley took it off. "My name's Abigail Lincoln, an' my codename's Numbah Five."_

_"OOH! ME NEXT!" Kuki yelled, jumping up and down. "MY NAME IS KUKI SANBAN AND MY CODENAME IS….um…Mr. Numbah-One-person? What's my number again?"_

_Nigel sighed. While his team didn't knoweach other yet, hehad already met with each of them privately.He told her gently, "Your codename is Numbah Three, Kuki."_

_Wally rolled his eyes. "Cruddy gurls. Neva rememba anythin' ya tell 'em."_

_Nigel glared at him as Kukiwimpered. Within seconds, she was crying (she hadbeen extremley sensitive at the time, evenmore sensitive than she was now). With hersleeve-covered hands over her eyes, sheran to her room, which she had been showed that morning when the Sector had toured the tree house.Nigel continued to glare at Wally as he spoke,"State your name and codename."_

_"The name's Wallabee Beatles. If any of ya eva call meh that, Ah'll beat the crud outta ya. Wally's foine. Mah codename is Numbah Four."_

_"Well then, Numbah Four, I think you had better go apologize to Numbah Three." Nigel said coolly._

_"What!" Wally yelled, his voice cracking slightly, "Ah'm not gonna apologize to a cruddy gurl!" His hands tightened into fists._

_"Do it," Nigel said harshly in an 'I'm-really-not-kidding' tone. "Now."_

_If glares could produce flames, then Wally'sright thenwould have burned a rather large holestraight through the wall. "Foine," he growled._

_He dragged his feet down the hallway to Kuki's room, and knocked on the wall next to the curtain. "Um…Numbah Three?"_

_"Go away!" She wailed. A rainbow monkey whizzed by Wally's ear as she threw it through the curtain._

_Hecarefully picked up the toy and stood by the curtain as he spoke again,"Ah'm uh…sorry for what Ah said earlier. Ah didn't mean ta call ya a cruddy gurl."Not even a momentafter he said that, Kuki came running out of her room and hugged him._

_"RAINBOW MONKEY FORGIVNESS HUG!" she yelled. Wally gaped at her. He wanted to inform her that 'He didn' loike gettin' hugsfrom cruddy gurls.' But something about Kuki's smile stopped him. Suddenly, she let go of him and jumped up and down. She squeaked as she yelled, "I KNOW! LET'S TAKE A PICTURE!" she rushed into her room and back out again, a camera now in her hand. "I LOVE PICTURES!" she sang asshe grabbed Wally's wrist with her free hand and half lead, half dragged him back into the main room. _

_They huddled together, and Kuki set the timer on the camera. In the picture, Hoagie madebunny ears on Wally's head, whose fist was inches away from Hoagie's cheek (Wally was in the process of punching him for the rabbit earswhen the picture was taken), Abby had her elbow propped up on Nigel's shoulder (Nigel was blushing madly), and Kuki had been running into the picture (the timer hadn't been set for nearly long enough). The photo wasn't particularly good, but the teamhad kept it for sentimental reasons, looking back at it now and then, simply to remember._

_.:End Flash Back:._

Wally and Kuki laughed at the memory as they walked home, hand-in-hand.

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**Well, folks, that's chappie numero DOS! or number two. either one. anyhoo, R&R. flames are fine. Just don't go on a flame-a-palooza cuz I said they were 'fine'. **

**audience: -boo's-**

**me: excuse me! who's runnin the show here! I AM! when I say no 'flame-a-paloozas' I _mean _no 'flame-a-paloozas'!**

**audience: -mumbles-**

**me: -sigh- people these days...everybodys a critic. ****-.-**

**audiance: -boo's-**

**me: -glares-**

**anywaaaaaaays...**

**Peace out**

**-Jack**


	3. Nightmares

**hey folks! -plops down in desk chair with box of bran flakes- IT'S CHAPTER THREE TIME! -shoves multiple handfulls of bran flakes into mouth-'kay, on wiff da stowy! -swallows-**

**_disclaimer: I don't on the KND. If I did, they'd all own poodles._**

**audience: -aaw-**

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_Wally's hands were glowing a brilliant shade of red. In the center of each of his palms was a blood red flame, the source of the glow. He let them hang lazily at his side; he was waiting for something. He was angry- more so than he had ever been in his life- but he didn't know why. None of his friends were in sight._

_He felt the flames he held grow hotter as five dangerously quiet, simultaneous voices filled his ears._

_"Well, Wallabee, it seems you are at the advantage this time. Don't burn yourself with your own fire," they droned._

_Wally swiveled around to see the Delightful Children From Down The Lane staring at him, their eyes empty and expressions unreadable._

_"Not fire; magic," He corrected them, smirking as their eyes widened in shock."And don't worry," Wally growled, his eyes flashing angrily with anticipation. "Ah'm not the one who'll be gettin' burnt." _

_In one smooth movement, his left hand flew from his side to straight out in front of him, throwing some of his magic at the Delightful Children._

_They dodged the flame easily. Wally threw several more, but it always seemed like they were one step ahead of him._

_Wallyattemptedto throw one more ball of fire, but had already run out of the energy he needed to use his magic. He fell to his knees, breathing hard and sweating. _

_The Delightful Children saw this of course, and laughed as the walked over to him. Wally was suddenly unable to move- his joints stiffened and his mouth became dry. His enemies stood over him, still laughing. The one closest to him drew a knife from his belt. He raised his arm, about to drive the dagger through Wally's chest and end his life forever-_

BEEEP-BEEEP-BEEEP-BEEEP-

Wally's eyes flew open as his fist slammed onto his ringing alarm clock- it broke instantly. He gave a heaving sigh as he looked about his room. "It was only a dream," he whispered out loud. "Didn't mean nothin'…it was just a…a dream…" He swung his legs over the ropes of his boxing-ring bed as he mumbled, "A very real dream…"

He turned his head to look at his bed-side table to check the time, out of habit. When he realized he had broken it, he scowled and walked over to his door, and out of his room.

Wally stared out the hallway windows for a moment or two, contemplating what time it might be. He had already realized that the kitchen clock was broken, and the cable clock had been busted for months (he had broken that one as well) and he decided that it was up to his better judgment to decide what time it was. _Looks ta be four AM, _He thought as he took a left turn down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen._Why was my clock set forthis early? _Hedidn'tdwell on the thought verylong. He was more preocupied with thefact that this was the fifth thing he'd broken in two days.

Hesighedwalked towardkitchen.He wasn't hungry; in fact, he didn't even want to look at food, let alone touch it or eat it. But he needed something to do, and what better thing to do at four o'clock in the morning than go get food from the kitchen that you aren't going to eat? "Nothing, that's what," he whispered to himself as he opened the door and stepped inside.

He reached for the light switch with his left hand and flipped it up and down a few times, only to find that it didn't work. He was beginning to feel frustrated, when suddenly, the room brightened. He smiled to himself and turned to look at the light switch, wondering what he had done to make it work. What he saw frightened him more than anything else he had ever seen in his life: his left hand was giving off a soft, red aura. _Just like in his dream._His eyes darted down to his right hand- it was doing the exact same thing.

"WHAT THE HECK!" he yelled, desperately (and rather stupidly)trying to wipe the aura off onto his jeans. He clapped them together a few times, hoping to stop the glow. Much to his pleasant surprise, it worked.

Just then, Nigel jogged in, panting from having run all the way from his room. "Num-Numbah F-Four-," he gasped. "W-why did you- why were you yelling?" He caught his breath, regained his good posture, and fixed his sunglasses, which had been slightly crooked.

"It was really, _really _weird- Moiy hand were loike, glowin' or somethin'!" Numbah four said, waving his arms wildly, as the rest of the team entered the kitchen.

"Sure dey were, Numbah Four," Abby said gently, then mumbled under her breath to Nigel, "Numbah Five's tellin' yeh, it's lack o' sleep, really…" Nigel subtly nodded, and Wally (who had heard what Abby had said) gaped at them both.

"Yeh- yeh- yeh don' believe meh?" He asked, hurt in his voice.

"Sho' we do Numbah Four," Abby said, offering him a reassuring smile.

"Y-yeah Numbah Four!" Hoagie struggled to talk as he attempted to compress his giggles. Finally, he let his laughter go. "GLOWING HANDS! THAT'S SO RANDOM! YA GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! _GLOWING!_" He shouted, clutching his belly as he laughed hysterically.

"It's not funny!" Wally protested, "And it's not random!It's true! Whoiy won' yeh believe meh?" When he recieved worried staresfrom his friends, he mumbled, "Ah'm goin' back ta bed."He gave them one last glareas he stomped out of the room.

Kuki watched him leave, her eyes full of worry. "I believe you, Wally," she said quietly, even though Wally was long gone and no one could hear her over Hoagie's laughter.

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**me: -sobs- IT'S SO SHORT! -sniff sniff- I- I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! IT JUST CAME OUT SO...SO...NOT LONG!**

**audience: -cheers-**

**me:-stops crying abrubtly-what are you cheerin about!**

**fat guy in the front row of audience: CHAPTER FOUR IS ON THE WAY!**

**me: 0.o THANK you, FAT GUY.**

**T.T**

**tootles!**

**Cracker Jack**


	4. Accident

**I….I….I HAVE REVEIWS! OH, HAPPY DAY! OOOH, THANK YOU! I'M SO _HAPPY_! In fact, I'm happy enough to write chappie four! Ooooooohh thank you so much to all who reviewed! **

**audience: -cheers-**

**me: but no thanks to the audience.**

**audience: -boo's-**

**_Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own anything. _**

**¢**

Wally stormed into his room and slammed the door behind him. He snickered as Hoagie's laughter stopped abruptly. He marched over to his boxing-ring-bed and swung his legs over the ropes, landing with a soft thud. Hemade his wayover to one of the corner poles and leaned on it, sighing. He slid to the ground after a moment, but hardly noticed. He was staring at his hands.

He narrowed his eyes and watched them for anything out-of-the-ordinary, but there wasn't- just regular hands. He growled as he clenched them into fists and pounded them on his bed. He stood up, and swung his legs over the ropes once more. He marched over to his punching bag, and threw a few good hits and kicks at it, until something stopped him- a faint _knock-knock-knock _on his door.

"Numbah Four? Are you okay?" Kuki's small voice entered his ears.

He lowered his hands from the air where he had been in mid-punch, and walked over to the door. He rudely swung it open and mumbled, "Whadaya want?"

"I just-" her eyes drifted down to his hands and widened considerably. "You-your-I mean, hands-they're-you're-"

Wally followed her gaze to see his hands were glowing their rather familiar soft shade of red.

"Kuki," he whispered, "C'mon, I wanna try somethin'. . ." Normally, he would've grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside, but her didn't want to burn her, just in case his hands heated up when they glowed.

Kuki stepped inside, carefully shutting the door behind her. She watched him, waiting to see what he'd do.

"See, Ah had this dream las' night. An'…an' Ah was shootin' foire from mah hands…an' Ah'd loike to troiy it an' see if it works, yeh know?"

Kuki nodded, and took a step back or two. "You should probably try to shoot something that isn't flammable, or you'll end up burning the whole tree house down."

Wally gaped at her, not quite believing what he had heard. _She isn't scared, and she believed me- I wonder if…_

"Wally? Are you gonna do it or not? The team will wonder where we went."

"Oh, uh…roight. What should Ah shoot at?" The two glanced around the room. Everything was either made out of wood, or something else flammable. "Maybe we should troiy it outside? Yeh know, on a rock or somehtin'."

"Maybe we should," Kuki said, as Wally turned to look at the window. "_Oh,_ no. We aren't climbing. If you climb out through the window, you're on your own. No way am I tryin' some crazy stunt like that."

Wally scowled. He was beginning to grow slightly aggravated. He felt his hands grow hotter; he nervously looked down at them. The aura had gone from a soft shade of red to deep shade of blood red very quickly. "Kuki…"

Kuki had been talking about ways to go out of the tree house without drawing much attention, but she stopped immediately when she caught sight of Wally's hands. "Um…Wally? What exactly did you do to make them like that?"

"Ah…uh…Ah was…a little…mad, maybe…" he mumbled, embarrassed.

The thought that Wally had been mad at her didn't even enter Kuki's mind. She blinked a few times, thinking. After a momentary pause, she stated, "Anger must fuel the magic."

Wally stared at her. "How could yeh know somethin' loike that?"

Ignoring Wally's comment, Kuki continued, "Perhaps other emotions fuel it, too. Maybe they've got different colors, and different amounts of power. Maybe 'happiness' is the most powerful and hardest to control, and 'anger' is the weakest and easiest, which would explain why you would be able to use it…" Her voice trailed off as she got lost in her own thought.

"How on earth do yeh know all this? It's really…loike, deep," Wally asked, beginning to get confused.

"I don't know any of it, really. It's just a guess," her serious look was replaced by a playful grin, "And I'm much smarter than you think."

Wally suddenly noticed how mature Kuki had become. How she was calm much more than she used to be, and how she always knew just what to say and when, unlike just a few years back, when she would simply speak her mind, no matter what she was thinking. _I guess we've all really grown since we started Sector V a few years ago, _he thought to himself. _I wonder if I've changed. _He gave Kuki a warm grin, and the aura around his hands disappeared. "Crud," he hissed, not wanting to swear in front of Kuki, although he knew he had before. "Looks loike I have ta get mad again…"

"'Loike'?" Kuki asked, mockingly. "Don't you mean…_like?_"

Wally scowled. She was making fun of his accent! More importantly, of _him!_ "What'd yeh say?" he growled.

"'Yeh'! C'mon, say it with me: _you. _Y-O-U. Not _yeh." _

His eyes narrowed. He felt his hands grow hot as the familiar red aura returned, and he realized what Kuki had done. Sadly, he didn't realize it quick enough to stop himself from automatically throwing a punch at Kuki. She dodged it nimbly, but the danger didn't stop there. A blood-red ball of fire flew from his hand; straight into the wooden box that contained all of his comics and un-finished homework- both of which are flammable.

The box caught fire immediately. Kuki squeaked, and her hands flew to her mouth in shock. She looked at Wally, wide-eyed, just as the KND fire alarm went off.

Wally, trying to keep a cool head, ran to his bed, and pulled a fully-loaded water gun out from underneath it. He pumped it up and shot at the flames, which quickly began shrinking.

The rest of the team ran in moments later, only to see a shaking Kuki, a panting Wally, and a room full of smoke- not to mention the remains of Wally's burnt comics and homework.

"What happened?" Nigel asked, scanning the room for the source of the fire. He stepped over to the burnt pile of papers and examined them, looking for a match or something else that could have caused the fire.

"Ah uh…burnt it with mah magic…" when he received harsh glares from his teammates, he quickly added, "By accident."

"And by magic, you mean…?" Nigel's voice trailed off, waiting to be answered.

"Magic," Wally stated, "Ah've got magic, and Ah nearly burnt the tree house down with it. Happy now?"

"Crud," Hoagie whispered.

Abby solemnly shook her head.

Nigel nodded and spoke harshly, "I want no more 'accidents' with magic in the tree house."

The four kids watched as their leader marched out of the room, leaving them with a lot on their minds, and a rather large mess to clean up.

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**Ta-da! -grins- c'mon people, you know what I'm gonna say, so say it with me!**

**audience:"R&R AND THE NEXT CHAPPIE WILL BE UP SOON." **

**me:there we go. good job, imaginary audience!**

**Anyhoo, youkeep readin' and I'll keep writin'! **

**-Jack **


	5. Sunrise

**Hey guys! check in out- chappie five! **

**-looks at fingers-**

**which is the same number as the amount of band-aids on my fingers!**

**If there are a lot of typos and obvious misspellings in the chapter,I blame the band-aids.**

**And if not the band-aids…then Iblame late-night television.**

**_Disclaimer: No, I don't own the KND. But I do own a box of sugar cubes, which I am eating (and getting all over my key board) right now as I write this._**

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Wally awoke the next morning, much to his complete and utter happiness, at 6:30; considerably later than he had been waking up the past couple of days. He eased into a sitting poison, waiting for his vision to become clear. He blinked a few times, and discovered that, for whatever reason, he must have fallen asleep on the couch last night.

Wally swung his legs off the couch and onto the floor with a soft 'thud,' and stared out the window at the rising sun. He dragged his feet over to the stair case and, too tired to walk, carefully seating himself on the railing, eyes still half-open. He past numerous floors until he reached the ground floor of the tree house, and, as he realized at the very last second, the end of the railing. He flew off the railing into the wall, head first. He quickly jerked away from the wall (which now had a small dent in it) only to have a wave of pain jolt through his head and neck.

He rubbed the back of his neck slowly, trying to ease the pain. He got to his feet and turned on his heal toward the trap door that contained a rope ladder- his favorite method of exiting the tree house, next to climbing.

He found the hinged door on the floor beneath him and swung it open, giving him a clear view of the grass surrounding the tree house- and the top of Numbah Five's head.

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things. When he realized he wasn't, he eased a stiff leg through the door and onto the first step. When he was about half way down the ladder (Abby still hadn't noticed him), he yelled, "Oy! Abby! Whatcha doin' up so early?"

Abby jerked her head up, her hand automatically moved to her waist (where a small 2 x 4 weapon hung from a very thin rope belt) and relaxed when she saw that it was Wally. "Numbah Five was about ta ask you da same question."

Wally slid down the remainder of the rope ladder (the sore, pink streaks across his hands told him that he had given himself rope burn) and sighed.

"Y'know what, Numbah Five?" Wally asked thoughtfully after there was a long pause between them, "Ah jus' noticed somethin'."

"Yeah?" Abby asked, shifting her gaze off of the sunrise and onto Wally, "Wah's dat?"

"Yeh're always awake in the mornin's when Ah can't sleep."

"Yeh know what, Numbah Four? Numbah Five t'inks yo right."

"Whoiy is that?" Wally asked quietly, turning his gaze to the sunrise.

"Cos Numbah Five can't sleep, jus' like you."

Wally turned to Abby and asked, "You know Numbah One real well, roight?" Abby nodded. "So uh…can Ah ask yeh somethin' 'bout him?"

"Sho', I geuz." Abby said slowly, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Whoiy did he freak yestaday when he saw moiy…uh…accident?"

Abby thought for a moment before saying quietly, "Ya'll know tha' Nigel's used ta bein' in control o' _everythang_. He's always got everythin' figured out and unda his controll. So when somethin uncontrollable like yo magic comes up, he jus' don' know what ta do o' how ta act."

Numbah Four blinked a few times, stupidly. "Ah'm sorry…._what?"_

Abby sighed. "He can't controll it, so he's afraid of it."

"Ooooh." Wally whispered softly. "That makes sense." Another pause. "Want some waffles? Ah think Ah'm gonna make some. An' maybe some bacon, too."

"No, Numbah Five's fine. Numbah Five's _always _fine. Durnin' all dose times you asked me fo' breakfast, did it eva occur ta you dat I don' eat anything in the mornin'?"

"Uh…was that a no?" Wally asked, confused.

"Yes."

"But…yeh just said yes."

"…About sayin' no."

"So yeh're sayin' 'yes' about 'no'?"

"Yes."

"An' yeh just said yes."

"Yes."

"Yes to breakfast?"

"No- yes abou' no."

"Wait- so yeh said no, then yeh said yes 'bout sayin' no, then yeh said yes to saying no, an' then yeh said no ta breakfast, but yes to no an'….Ah'm goin' ta get some food before mah head explodes."

Numbah Five chuckled as Wally walked turned and made his way back up the ladder. "You do dat, Numbah Four." And when he was out of ear shot she added, "Dang, he really is da dumb one."

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**Oh, I had fun writing this chappie! but BOY, Numbah Five dialogues are hard. Australian is easier to type than…er…Numbah-Five-language. **

**5: Yo' a foo', jack.**

**4: -reads text- Whaddaya mean, Australian is easy! It took me years ta learn ta talk lioke this!**

**me: o.0**

**1: Well, 'British' isn't a walk at the beach, either!**

**me: um guys…? why are you here…?**

**5, 4, & 1: SHUT UP!**

**2: Do I have an accent?**

**all: -silence- **

**2: O.O whaaat!**

**anyhoo, sorry it's so short, and I apologize for the lack of 3&4 fluff.Some stuff about numbah one needed to be said, and who better to say it than Numbah Five? ButI'm saving allda GOOD flufffor -dum da da DUM- CHAPPIE SIX: THE FLUFF-A-GANZA!**

**-does a happydance-**

**so you're gonna have ta wait. **

**wubb, cracker jack**


	6. Happiness

**Alright peoples, you ready for dis? IT'S CHAPTER SIX, COMPLETE WITH FLUFF! **

**so for dose of you who don't like fluff….**

**get the heck outta here.**

**CUZ I GOT A BIG OL' FLUFF BOMB, AND IT'S GONNA EXPLODE!**

**okay, maybe not a _bomb_…maybe somethin smaller, like a hand-grenade. **

**but first I wanna reply to some o' my reviews. **

**Hokai Amplifier: you're right. Kuki is WAAAY out of character. lets just pretend she magically got mature (X.X) and the band-aids were from me cutting myself on soda cans (yeh know, tryin ta open em) lol, I look forward to more of your reviews!**

**Shadowstar213: You can go right ahead and make a story about Numbah three bein a healer- it sounds really cool! heck, I'd read and review it MYSELF:)**

**almostinsane: thanks for reminding me about the 3x4ness. heh. It uh…totally slipped my mind…-clears throat- that's why this chappie is here!**

**Kmutt: thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them and hope to see more!**

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Wally stared at the wooden ceiling of his room, lost in thought. He had been sitting on his bed for hours, _thinking._ Usually, he tried his absolute hardest not to think too deeply into things, but right now he felt that he needed to.

If Numbah One was scared of Wally's magic, then he could prohibit it just as easily as he had prohibited the use double-sided duct tape in their 2x4 weapons just a month ago, when Hoagie had gotten himself (and quite a few other items as well, as Wally recalled) stuck to the roof of the tree house; the team had been unable to get him down, and had to leave him their for a day or two until in rained and the tape un-stuck itself. Wally still remembered having to climb up there to give him food and water.

_Stop it, _he told himself, _you're zoning out._

He sighed. His sat up and hopped out of bed, turning to see the replacement clock on his bed-side table that he had gotten from the deepest depths of his closet. It was about 7:45 AM (the new clock wasn't digital, so it was hard to tell.)

He walked briskly out of his room, a new spring in his step. Numbah Five had told him more than he needed to know that morning, and he felt someone renewed, what with knowing how to solve his problem and all.

Now all Wally had to do was convince Nigel that his magic was perfectly safe and controllable. Of course, he'd have to convince himself first.

He made his way to the stairs and slid down the railing to the ground floor. His head made a rather loud 'BANG' as it collided with the wall. Fortunately for him, Wally was on the lowest floor of the tree house, and his team-mates slept on the sixth, and were unable to hear him.

He found the trap door that led to his favorite rope ladder, and swung it open. He held the sides of the rope ladder loosely in his hands and slid to the ground, his already callused hands now burnt from the friction.

Ignoring the pain in his hands (_I have GOT to stop slipping down that ladder, _he thought to himself), he smiled up at the sun, something he rarely saw in the morning. Pretty soon it would be winter, and the sun wouldn't truly come up until 8:30 AM, at least.

He walked stiffly over to the sidewalk and followed it to the park. He didn't think Kuki would be up at this hour, but he didn't feel like making his usual trip to the kitchen like he usually did to kill off time, and you can't blame a guy for trying.

There were hardly any cars on this particular street. It wasn't busy at all, not even during the day. It was more of a neighborhood than a major street, and for that, Wally was glad. Imagine dealing with car crashes every other day- yuck.

When he reached the park, he squinted his eyes through both his hair and the sunlight and searched for Kuki. He located her favorite bench, and had to use all of his self control to stop himself from yelling and jumping up and down in joy; for there, on the bench, was Kuki.

She had her walkman on with her headphones settled over her ears (_God knows what she's listening to, _Wally thought), and was staring rather distractedly at the ground. Then, as if she knew he was there, she looked up and met his eyes (well, what she could see of his eyes. They were behind his hair, which stilled needed to be cut.)

"Wally?" She asked, not quite believing he was really there. "What're you doing here? It's eight AM, silly."

"Ah was gonna ask yeh the same question."

Kuki blushed, and put her walkman on 'pause'. "I just like it here. It's…nice." Wally plopped down on the bench next to her. "Such a beautiful day, isn't it? I KNOW! We should go to the beach or something! OH, and we can build a sand castle, and eat jelly beans and then we'd play rainbow monkey dress-up and have pizza and go swimming and ride ponies and eat jelly beans- wait, did I already say that one?" she paused, but it only lasted a second. "WE COULD EAT THEM TWICE!"

Wally desperately tried to comprehend what she was saying. His brain was a little slow at this time in the morning, and he felt as though Kuki were speaking a completely different language. "Ah um…Ah'm sorry, what was that?"

Kuki looked at his confusion and giggled for a second before turning once more to look at the scenery before them. Wally blinked. Usually, Kuki was rather angry with him when he didn't listen to her. Wally recalled once when he had asked Hoagie "Why girls were so weird." And he had been told, "They're funny. One second they'll hate your guts and want you banished off the face of the earth, and the next, they love ya. For them, it's just the normal part of bein' abnormal."

Some how, those words seemed more true than ever right now. "Uh…Kuki? There's uh…somethin'…that Ah wanna talk about…."

Kuki looked at him. "What about?"

"Uh…well…" _what are you doing, you idiot? _he asked himself mentally_, just tell her! _Wally was suddenly extremely aware of how physically close he and Kuki were. Kuki, on the other hand, didn't notice, or didn't care... "Ah…well, see…Ah…" he could even feel himself blushing.

He and Kuki were only a foot away from each other…

Then, without a second thought, he closed the gap between them, gently putting his lips against hers; he was slightly afraid of what might happen if he went into it too fast. But, much to his relief, she returned the kiss, deepening it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Wally broke the kiss. "Kuki…Ah…"

Kuki giggled. "I love you too, Wally."

Wally reached out his hand to pull her into another kiss, only to have Kuki jump back. Wally immediately realized why- his hands were giving of an extremley hot light blue aura.

He drew back. Wally held his hands out in front of him, trying not to set the bench (or anything else, for that matter) on fire from his touch. "Sorry," he muttered.

"What color do you think blue is?" Kuki asked, tossing his apology aside. "It's really pretty; and shiny."

"Maybe…happiness?"

Kuki beamed at him.

"Hey guys! Numbah One sent me to come look for you and- oh, ho, ho- it seems we were getting' a bit chummy! I always knew you guys would get together…"

Kuki and Wally spun around to see Hoagie standing on the sidewalk, with his hands on his hips.

"Am I interrupting something serious, or are you two love birds gonna come have breakfast with me?"

"YUM! I WANT WAFFLES!" Kuki shouted, jumping off the bench and zooming down the sidewalk in the direction on home.

"SO," Hoagie said, smirking, "Looks like YOU had fun."

"Eh, shut it."

"HEY! What'd ya hit me for?"

"Nuttin'."

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**Alright guys, R&R. hope ya liked it. chappie seven on the way! flame away. yes, the band-aids are still here, so blame them for typos.**

**see ya next chapter,**

**Jack**


	7. Probation

**I know I usually say somethin clever or witty or catchy here but um...I'm pullin' a blank. **

**hmm.**

**I could do a disclaimer!**

**YES! I SHALL DO A DISCLAIMER! WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!**

**okay! here we go!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the KND. But I um...own...the...story.**_

**-grins-**

**That was one HECK of a disclaimer, huh, guys! **

**Oh and...I'll reply to some reviews, too.**

**_thefanwithashortattentionspan: _Yowch! what kind of suicidal sport are you training for six days a week! lol, I hope yeh get betta and thanks for reviewin'**

**_kmutt: _I always enjoy your reviews. yes, Hoagie did see them kiss, which is going to come into play during this chappie. thanks! **

**_DynaGirl: _your review made me laugh! don't die on me! lol**

**NOW ON TO THE STORY!**

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When Wally, Kuki, and Hoagie got back to the tree house, Wally and Kuki when straight to the kitchen for breakfast. Hoagie, on the other hand, took off in the other direction; up quite a few flights of stairs and down to hallways- right to Nigel's room.

When he finally got to his leader's room, he was extremely out of breath, and talking was difficult. He swung to door open and let himself in, still gasping for air. Nigel was stretched out comfortably on his bed, holding an open book above his head that (by the looks of it) he was reading. Hoagie also noticed Abby, who was sitting in a bean-bag chair by Nigel's bed, listening to her walkman and holding a magazine that she was reading loosely in her hands; Hoagie suspected the chair was hers, and she had simply moved it to Nigel's room for today.

"I...saw...four...and the...bench...with the...three...park..." Hoagie still couldn't seem to catch his breath, and talking was very difficult.

"I'm sorry?" Nigel asked, lowering his book and sitting up. "I er...didn't catch anyone that..."

Abby stared at him, not bothering to remove her headphones, as if to say: 'I know what you're saying is stupid, so why should I bother listening?'

"Morning...I...park...on bench..."

"Alright, so you went to the park?" Nigel attempted to understand what Hoagie was saying. "And you were on a bench...?"

"No...three...four...bench...park..." _Boy, am I out of shape_, he thought angrily. _I should work out._

"Okay, so there were three or four benches at the park?" Nigel asked, still quite confused.

"On the...bench...three...kissing..."

"So three of the benches were kissing?"

Abby looked up and glared at both Nigel and Hoagie. And, without taking her headphones off, said, "Numbah Two sez dat he saw Numbah Four and Numbah Three kissin' on a bench at da park."

Hoagie (though still gasping for breath) looked at Abby in awe. Nigel's jaw dropped, but it was clear that it had not been Abby's incredible translation that had shocked him; it was what she had translated.

"Is that...true, Numbah Two?"

Numbah Two was finally beginning to catch his breath, and managed to say, "Yes."

Abby seemed unmoved by the idea of Wally and Kuki kissing, and returning to her magazine. "I alwayz knew dey'd hook up."

"Are you aware that romantic affairs (especially with fellow teammates) are strictly against _Kids Next Door Protocol_? Section B12 in the Kids Next Door handbook on page twenty-two-thousand-point-five, It clearly states that any and all relationships above 'friend' level are for teenagers, and any and all operatives that try anything of the sort will be decommissioned."

"Mhhm." Abby raised an eyebrow and looked up from her magazine, "What 'bout you an' Lizzie?"

"I broke up with her a month ago when I discovered that Numbah 86 had established that particular rule."

"Good fo' you." Abby said honestly. She had never liked Lizzie. When Nigel wasn't around she would always refer to her as "The Cow" or "The Whale". "I neva liked Lizzie much."

"That makes two of us," Nigel mumbled.

Hoagie (having finally caught his breath) asked, "So what are we gonna do about Numbah Four and Numbah Three?"

"How 'bout we jus' let 'em be?" Abby asked, finally putting her walkman on pause and lifting of her headphones.

"You and I both know that Kuki can't keep a secret for her life. Wait two or three days, and all of the sectors within a 30-mile radius will know, not to mention the Moon Base." Nigel said.

"I s'pose yo' right, but we should at leas' give 'em a chance."

"Yeah, Numbah One!" Hoagie said, staring to feel a little left out in the conversation.

"Yes, yes...alright. We give them a week of...well...probation."

"Pro-whatty-what?"

"Probation, stupid," Abby said, aggravation evident in her voice, "It means we leave 'em be fo' a week an' see how thingz work out."

"Oh," Hoagie said softly, as if not too charmed by the idea.

"Alright, team," Nigel said, getting off of his bed, "I'm going to go start breakfast."

"Count me in!"

"Numbah Five's comin' too."

Just as the three friends stepped into the hallway, a loud crash sounded through the hallway. They raced down to the kitchen to see that there was a rather large hole in the window, and Wally was facing it; they could only see his back.

"Numbah Four, what'd you do this time?" Abby asked, jokingly.

Wally slowly turned around, and the team gasped. He was _covered _with shards of broken glass. His face and hands where red with blood from cuts. "It...wasn't...me..." he said slowly and quietly, as if talking hurt.

Something in the corner squeaked. They all turned to see Kuki curled up in a ball on the ground, shaking at the sight of Wally's blood-covered face and hands.

"Kuki...what happened?" Abby asked, running over to comfort her friend.

"Somebody threw somethin' at the window-and-and Wally pushed me out-out of the way-and-and now he's hurt!" Kuki said, struggling to hold back tears and, after a moment, failing to do so.

Abby wiped the tears off her cheeks like a good 'sister' would, and said softly so only Kuki could hear, "C'mon, now, ya gotta be strong fo' Wally, right? He wants ta see that yo' okay."

Kuki stopped sniffling immediately.

"Kuki," Nigel said gently, "Why don't you go clean up Wally?"

"Kay," She said, smiling weakly as she stood up. "Let's go, Numbah Four."

As the two left the room, Hoagie spoke, "But...if Wally didn't break the window then...who did?"

"I dunno," Abby said, gesturing to a rather large stone on the floor, "But dey musta been pretty serious ta throw a rock that big."

"I can't help but wonder," Nigel said thoughtfully, "why someone would do something like that."

"I think I've got an idea on why," Abby said, picking up the rock, "An' I don' think yo gonna like it."

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**YAY! that's a good length chappie, right there! No, there isn't any fluff. I'm sowwy. but I'll toss some in next chappie, so don't hurt me! pwease review! **

**-makes 'sad puppy dog' eyes-**

**wubb**

**jack**


	8. Scanning

**guess who's back**

**back again**

**Jack is back**

**tell a friend**

**dOOt dOOt!**

**now before we get da party started, I gotsta reply ta some o' my reviews. **

**_thefanwithashortattentionspan: _a/n stands for author's note! and…me thinks you needs a vacation off- NO MORE SUICIDAL SPORTS FOR YOU! lol, thanks for the review!**

**_34lover: _you know who it is! That's absolutely wonderful, cos I don't even know yet! I mean -um- of course I know who it is! it's…a…um…guy… lol, I think I know who I want it to be BUT Im not tellin'! thanks for reveiwin!**

**_NumbahFour: _um…do you mean that in a good way? Do you not WANT them to kiss? –sniffles- thanks for the review!**

**KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK REVIEWING AND I'LL KEEP WRITING! **

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_"Father, please- forgive us..."_

_"No! No excuses! I gave you one chance, now I want him DESTROYED!" _

_"But Father, how-"_

_"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE! I NEED THIS DONE MYSELF! I GAVE YOU A PERFECT LASER! YOU BROKE IT! NOW THIS KID IS SOME SUPER-NATURAL FREAK AND POTENTIAL THREAT!"_

_"Father, we-"_

_"SO YOU THROW A ROCK AT HIM!"_

_"We had no weapon-"_

_"AND YOU USED A ROCK! A ROCK, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! THEY'LL END UP SCANNING IT!"_

_"Father, please- we just need one more chance-"_

_"Fine. I'll give you a weapon. A laser cannon, even. JUST DON'T MESS IT UP THIS TIME!"_

_"Yes, Father. Thank you, Father."_

Wally shot up into a sitting position. He was breathing hard; his throat was dry. He climbed out of his bed, and set off at a jog to the kitchen. He was so thirsty-

But what about that dream? What…who were they? He put these thoughts in the back of his mind as he jogged by Numbah One's room. When he heard the voices of his fellow teammates, he stopped short and pressed his ear against the door, listening.

"Scan it again, Numbah Two," Nigel said harshly.

"But Numbah One," Hoagie whined, "We've been scanning this damn rock all morning! IT'S JUST A FREAKING ROCK!"

"Scan it again."

Slightly unnerved by Nigel's calmness at his yelling, Hoagie mumbled as he turned the item-scanner back on.

Wally stepped into the room to see his team (save Numbah Three, who always slept in late) huddles around a small two-by-four machine.

"What's that?" Wally asked. He knew the answer, he just wanted to see if the team would notice him.

"Item-scanner," Hoagie replied distractedly.

"What's it do?" Numbah Four queried, waiting for someone to tell him what exactly they had been scanning.

"Scans items," Abby retorted in a quiet monotone.

Nigel drew his gaze away from the scanner and looked at Wally through his sunglasses. "We're scanning the rock that was thrown through the window yesterday for any information on who did it."

"C'mon, Nigel," Abby said, putting her hands on her hips. "Fo' all we know, it coulda been some kid who felt like chuckin' a rock at somethin' and happened to pick the tree house."

"For all we know, it could have been Father, and he could have had far more serious intentions than 'feeling like it'."

Suddenly, the puzzle pieces in Wally's head seemed to click into place. "Ah think it was the Delightful Children from down the Lane."

"See?" Nigel said smugly to Abby, with a smile to match his tone.

"No, really," Wally said, not mentioning his dream. "Ah think they don' want me ta have moiy powers. Ah think they want me…dead."

The room was quiet for a moment before Abby broke the silence, "Wouldn' tha' be jus' like dem ta give Numbah Four powas and then wanna kill him?"

"It would," Nigel said quietly, "But I want evidence."

"Wait, guys," Hoagie said in a harsh whisper, "I'm getting something here." The team stared at the scanner, which was printing out an analysis on the scan. Then, much to the shock of Nigel, who had been watching the scan oven Hoagie's shoulder, Hoagie sprang up out of his chair and rushed over to the computer. He typed in some of the information from the analysis, and waited. The computer beeped as it loaded, and Hoagie let out a gasp. He stepped away from the screen so the team could see. Evidently, the scanner had picked up traces of finger prints from gloves, and the computer traced them back to their owners: the Delightful Children.

"Told yeh." Wally said, grinning.

"How'd ya know?" Abby asked.

"Um…lucky guess?" Wally lied.

Abby looked up from the computer and stared at him. "Yo' a terrible liar, Numbah Four."

"How'd yeh know Ah was lying?"

"I didn't," she smiled, "But ya jus' practically told me ya were."

"Crud," he said, scowling.

He quickly told them about the dream he had last night and the one he had in chapter three—I mean, um, the one he had a few days ago…

"I'm sure they're only dreams," Nigel said logically, not taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"Yeah, uh huh," Abby said sarcastically, "Since when are dreams so accurate?"

Hoagie grinned. "Maybe when the Delightful Children gave him his powers, they gave him, like, dream-seeing-abilities, and he can see-"

"Wait," Abby interrupted, "Da Delightful Children gave Numbah Four his powas?"

"Well…yeah," Hoagie said, scratching the back of his neck. "Maybe…"

"Wait, wait, wait," Nigel said slowly. A few weeks ago, didn't we face them?"

"Yeah," Wally said, his expression hardening, "They shot meh. It freakin' hurt."

"They shot you…with a laser cannon…" Nigel paused, and then said quickly, "We must have caused it to malfunction while we were attempting to destroy it. So instead of blowing you to bits-"

"He gave meh moiy powers," Wally stated.

"Right then," Nigel said, turning to look at Wally. "We begin training immediately."

"Awesome!" Wally yelled happily.

"Yeah, cool!" Hoagie agreed, jumping in the air.

"Right then; we'll take it outside so we don't have any more 'accidents'…" Nigel said, but Wally and Hoagie were way ahead of him. They raced out the door and flew down the stairs.

The second they slid down the rope ladder and outside, Hoagie yelled, "This is so cool! This is awesome! This is-"

"Serious," Nigel retorted, slipping down the ladder with Abby climbing down above him.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Hoagie said, blushing slightly. He had a slight tendency to get carried away.

"Numbah Four- Can you, um, light up you hands again?"

"Yeah, Ah just need ta get mad or somethin'."

"You look like a girl," Hoagie said bluntly.

"_Excuse me?_" Wally snarled, turning to look at his friend.

"I said, 'You look like a girl,'. You're always wearin' orange. That's a really girly-" He couldn't even finish his sentence. Wally was holding him up by the collar of his shirt, his hands glowing a soft red.

"Excellent," Nigel said. "Now put Numbah Two down." Wally obeyed. "Can you throw it like you did in your dream? You know, the one you had a few days ago?"

"Ah think so," Wally said, searching the yard with his eyes for a rock to shoot at. When he found one, he lifted his arm so that it was straight out in front of him. He concentrated on the rock, and focused. A tiny wisp of fire flew from his hand and toward the rock. Sadly, it disappeared only feet away from the rock.

"That was weak," Hoagie muttered. It was going to be a long day.

¢

Nigel finally allowed Wally to stop training around 2:00 PM. He had managed to hit the rock with his magic (and was forced by his leader to do so many times until he got better at it) and was now extremely tired. He hobbled into the kitchen for a drink, his tired legs screaming at him with every step. He almost wanted to fall to his knees and thank god when he saw Kuki sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich.

"Hi, Wally," she said amiably, looking up from her sandwich. "How's it goin'? Was training okay? You look tired."

"Ah'm not tired at all-" his sentence was cut short as his knees buckled beneath him and he had to grip the door frame to stay standing.

Kuki giggled as she ran over to help him up. "You're about as tired as tired can get, silly," she smiled. "You should probably be in bed right now."

"Ah probably should," Wally gently kissed her cheek, "But that doesn't mean Ah wouldn't rather stay here with yeh."

She giggled again. "Come on; you'll collapse onto the floor in a couple of minutes if you don't get some sleep." She returned his kiss with one of her own on his lips and ordered him with mock-anger, "You. Bed. Now."

He smiled and chuckled. "Yes, Ma'am."

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**Alright, chappie eight.**

**-sigh-**

**I wrote this at, like, 9:00 PM just so you guys wouldn't forget about me. but it's not short, which I like.**

**pweeeaaase review. PWEEEAAASE!**

**I'll be back with more fun-ness.**

…

**eventually.**

**Signed, you quite frankly exhausted author,**

**Jack-in-the-box**


	9. Tests

**yup, yup, yup.**

**I have returned.**

**I have….**

**CHAPPIE NINE!**

**audience: -cheers-**

**but wait- there's more!**

**audience: -silence-**

**actually…there isn't.**

**audience: -boo's-**

**um…here's chappie nine.**

**audience: -claps-**

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"Numbah Four, get up. We're going to begin training."

At the sound of his leader's voice, Wally's eyes opened and flicked over to his clock; it was almost four thirty AM. "Numbah One, it's loike, 4:30."

"4:27, actually."

"Yeah, whateva. It's too early." Wally pulled the covers over his head and shut his eyes.

But Nigel was wide awake, and yanked the covers off Wally completely (poor Wally was too tired to keep a good grip on them) and tossed them aside. "When I say get up, I mean it. Up. Now."

Wally swore fluently under his breath as he eased out of bed. He followed Nigel (who was, without a doubt, a morning person) out of his room and into the hallway. The team was standing there, all wearing smug smirks (**a/n: that is REALLY fun to say! Smug smirks, smug smirks…**) on their faces. Wally, who was half asleep, didn't notice this, of course.

The team walked outside, where a large, already scorched rock awaited them.

"Alroight, what next?" Wally yawned.

"Fire, please," Nigel said. They had discovered earlier that, when Wally wasn't feeling any extreme emotions, he could concentrate on his magic and obtain a plain, white fire that couldn't do much; it wasn't even hot.

"Numbah Five?" Nigel asked, grinning, "Don't you have something you'd like to share with us?"

Abby nodded, and grinned. She turned to Wally and said calmly, "I'm a lesbian."

Wally's jaw dropped. The white fire in his palms turned a light shade of…pink. Wally didn't notice the pink, but the rest of his team did, and were giggling. He stared at Abby. "You're a…a…"

His friends ignored what he had said. "Pink," Nigel noted, "Get that down, Numbah Two. I'm guessing it's shock, or surprise…"

Hoagie pulled out a pad of paper. "Right, got it. Pink- shock."

"Wait, what's goin' on?" Wally asked, confused.

"I'm not a lesbo, you idiot," Abby said, then mumbled under her breath, "Damn, you really are the dumb one…"

"Then why did you say-"

"Look! Numbah Three is kissing Numbah Two!" Abby yelled through giggles.

Sure enough, Kuki gave Hoagie a peck on the cheek. Wally's eyes narrowed. The used-to-be-pink flames in his hands turned a deep shade of emerald green.

"Right then," Nigel said coolly, "Green is jealousy...should've seen that coming…Get that down, Numbah Two."

"Okay, got it; Green- jealousy."

"ALROIGHT, WHAT'S GOIN' ON?" Wally's voice cracked slightly as he yelled. The flames in his palms turned a deep red; anger, obviously.

"We're testin' ta see which emotions fuel yo' magic, stupid." Abby said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh," Wally said, a light blush spreading across his face. The red flames turned a light shade of orange.

"Dis is pretty funny, when ya think about it," Abby said, laughing. "Yo' fallin' fo' evr'y on of our tests, Numbah Four."

"Am not!"

"Actually, you did. Now we just need to test them. Numbah Two, did you get down that embarrassment is orange?"

"Yessir!" He said proudly holding up his pad of paper.

"Since it _is_ Saturday, Numbah Four can have the rest of the day off. Tomorrow we will attempt to see which emotion is the strongest. Team, you are dismissed," Nigel said. As the team walked toward the tree house, Wally ran up to his leader. "But…why did we have to get up so freakin' early?"

"So you wouldn't realize we were testing you."

"And um…Kuki doesn't like Numbah Two, roight?"

"Not any more than a friend, no."

"Thanks, Numbah One," Wally said, picking up a jog and yelling to Kuki, "Hey! Numbah Three! Wait up!"

Nigel smiled to himself. Protocol or no, Wally and Kuki did look happy together. _They're a cute couple, _he thought with a sigh.

¢

"Hi, Wally!" Kuki said happily as Wally came running toward her. "I mean- Numbah Four."

"Hey, Ku-Numbah Three," Wally said with a sheepish smile. "Um…Numbah Three?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeh, um…only kissed Hoagie 'cause Numbah One told yeh to…roight?

"Right," She said with a giggle. "His ass is as big as China- there's no way I'm kissin' him!"

"His ass is as big as Asia, period," Abby corrected, grinning when both Kuki and Wally burst out laughing. Her smile faded when Hoagie jogged over.

"Whatcha guys talking 'bout?" He asked amiably, panting from his jog.

"Politics," Abby said bluntly.

"NumbahFivesaysyourassisasbigas-," Kuki's extremely quick sentence was cut short when Wally's hand flew over her mouth.

"We were talkin' bout politics," Abby said again.

Hoagie (not having understood a word Kuki had said) simply shrugged and said, "Am I the only one who still thinks John Kerry should have been elected?"

¢

**OKAY. there's chappie number nine. **

**or…chappie #9.**

**or…chappie Numbah Nine…**

…

**k, pwease review, guys.**

**chappie ten should be up soon.**

**I think this story may be coming to a close.**

**I just need to add the big fight scene and-**

**I've said too much! ;)**

**Tee hee!**

**Wubb,**

**Jack-o-lantern**


	10. End

**Okay…**

**It's here…**

**What you've all been waiting for…**

**The one…**

**The only…**

**THE GRAND FINALE, CHAPTER TEN! THE EXCITING CLOSE TO 'SECLUDED POWER'!**

**So brace yourself…**

**FOR THE LAST CHAPTER OF A LIFE TIME!**

¢

"Embarrassment- now!" Nigel ordered.

Wally thrust his hands forward, sending a fistful of light pink fire at his target: a very heavily-padded Hoagie.

The fire hit him with deadly precision in the center of his stomach. Hoagie took a step back from the blow, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

"Jealousy- now!"

The pink flames in Wally's fists turned a deep shade of green, and he threw his lit fists out in front of him once more, sending a ball of flames at Hoagie. Unlike the pink fire, the green sent poor Hoagie straight into a near-by tree. He quickly scrambled up and resumed his role as a walking target for Wally's blows.

"Happiness- now!"

Wally concentrated. So far, obtaining the light-blue magic that represented happiness had been the most difficult for him. The other emotions were simple. In fact, his favorites were anger and jealousy, which proved powerful time and again. But happiness was far more difficult. When the green flames in his hands failed to turn blue and simply resumed their neutral white, Nigel let out a heaving sigh.

"Numbah Four, this happens every time I tell you to use 'Happiness'. In fact, I don't think I've every seen it at all! Try harder! None of us are leaving until you get it. No, Numbah Three, he's to do it on his own." Kuki, who had about to ask if she could help him, shut her mouth.

The rest of the team, who had been watching and occasionally suggesting emotions for Wally to do when Nigel was taking a break to record what had been happening, groaned.

Wally concentrated harder than ever now. He imagined it- he pictured it- he did everything he could to try and convince 'Happiness' to show itself, but nothing worked. His magic was still white, and his cheeks were red and shining with sweat from effort. "Numbah One, Ah…Ah can't do it…" he panted.

"What if we were in the middle of some kind of mission, hmm? And our weapons were broken? And what if, by chance, we were depending on your magic? What if we needed the most power we could get? Would you still say you couldn't do it? Would you, still?"

"Numbah One, give the kid a break. He's been workin' all mornin'. Jus' look at him. He's tired, he's stressed, let him be." Abby said, putting her hands in their usual place on her hips.

"Let him be? How can I let him be when Global Command has informed us that the Delightful Children from down the Lane are plotting against us as we speak? We may need this sort of power! What happened last time can never be repeated-"

_.:Flash Back:._

_"Well, Kids Next Door, it looks as though we won't be meeting again. Sad, isn't it?" The Delightful Children mused. Nigel, Hoagie, Kuki, and Abby were all held by metal cuffs on the wall, their toes scarcely touching the ground beneath them. "But where is our dear friend, Wallabee? Ah, well. We'll find him eventually. But as for you four…"_

_The Delightful Children were perched in the cockpit of a good sized ship with a very good sized laser on its top. Their target: the four KND members chained to the wall. "Say goodnight, KIDS NEXT DOOR!"_

_Just as the laser was charged and ready to fire, a blur of orange knocked it out of place; a loud 'CRACK' in the air informed all of the kids that Wally's impact with the laser had impaired the beam, which sparked and whistled as it hit him instead of its original target._

_"Numbah Four!" Kuki wailed, trying desperately to break the cuffs around her wrists._

_Wally stood up shakily, looking as though he'd had a fight with a power socket and lost. His hair was spiked up with static electricity, exposing his rarely-seen eyes. He was surrounded by a soft yellow aura, no doubt a side affect from the laser not working correctly._

_"You idiot! How could you have broken it? Father shall be furious! We must go for now, Kids next Door, but we shall meet again!" The Delightful Children yelled over their ship's motors as they took flight._

_.:End Flash Back:._

The team was silent. Nigel shook his head and sighed. "You know what? Numbah Five's right. Numbah Four, you've got-" He checked his wrist watch, "two hours. I want you back here by then."

"Wait," Wally said quietly, "Ah don' want a break. Ah want ta try until Ah get it."

Nigel gave him a half-smile. "Excellent. That's the kind of attitude we need here."

He turned to Abby and grinned at her. She sighed and returned the favor.

"Alright," Nigel said thoughtfully, "Have at it then."

Wally frowned. "Uh…how?"

"Oh, I don't know. Think happy thoughts or something." Nigel said, frowning. His expression seemed to say, 'I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.'

Wally racked his brain for happy thoughts. He finally remembered his first kiss with Kuki, and held on to the memory. He clenched his hands into fists and clamped his eyes shut. He played the memory in his head over and over like a broken record, trying to go around the parts where he may have felt emotions other than happiness that could possibly interfere with what he was doing.

Wally did this for what seemed like forever. He felt a bead of sweat dibble down his brow. He didn't even feel his hands heat up. Nothing he did would work…

Suddenly, the earth shook beneath him and an ear-splitting explosion pierced the air. Wally's hands (no longer hot from his magic) flew over his ears to block out the noise. Thankfully, it stopped abruptly, and he was allowed to lower his hands to his sides and open his eyes. He gasped at what he saw. Hoagie whistled in amazement and whispered, "Sweeeeet."  
A battle ship (it reminded Wally very much of a monster truck, the way it was built) with two large laser cannons on each side had landed before them. It was fairly small, yet big enough to hold the weight of its cannons, which were the biggest Wally had ever seen. He was honestly not surprised when five simultaneous cackles filled his ears.

"Why, hello, Kids Next Door. It's so nice to see you again," The Delightful Children from down the Lane said with mock-politeness from the cockpit of their ship.

"Alroight, Delightful _Dorks_! Whatcha gonna do, shoot us with yer little cannons? _Bring it on_!" Wally said, spreading his legs shoulder-width apart and bringing his hands up in fighting stance.

"Oh, no, Wallabee. Not quite our plans. See, we were hoping to _destroy _you with our incredibly _large _solarcannons!" That much was true; their cannons were equipped with solar panels, made for collecting energy and fuel from sunlight.

Then it seemed to hit them- every member of the team. It quickly dawned on them that they were all unarmed. All except Wally, of course, who had his magic.

Wally narrowed his eyes. He felt anger welling up inside him. He knew what he had to do; just not how to do it.

The Delightful Children laughed. "Goodnight, dear friends."

As the cannons began collecting sunlight, solar energy flew to them like magnets; a rather annoying and lingering humming sound followed.

"Crud, crud, crud…" Wally whispered.

"Numbah Four! Stop the cannons!" Nigel yelled over the hum of the lasers.

"How?" he wailed. He tried not to panic, but he had never been very good at keeping a cool head when things got…well, like this.

"I don't care how! Just do it so we don't get hurt!" Nigel yelled. The humming was growing louder as the cannons gained more energy.

Wally concentrated. He was nervous, and that was making things difficult. _I'm mad_, he decided_. I'm real mad. Mad, angry, furious, outraged…_

He felt his hands grow hot with their familiar blood red flame. A loud explosion sounded, and he knew he was a bit late. Thankfully, he had been out of range, and his friends knew enough to get the heck out of the way when the laser fired.

The cannons were already back to humming and getting fuel. _If only it wasn't sunny out_, Wally thought bitterly as he collected his thoughts to get his magic powerful enough to make a successful blow_, then those stupid cannons and their stupid panels- Wait! The panels!_

He grinned devilishly as his magic grew hotter in his palms. He would aim enough fire at the panels to overheat and melt them! Just as the cannons fired a second time, Wally sprung into the air, dodging the beam. He landed straight on top of one of the cannons, and found the solar panel. His eyes flashed dangerously as he sent a steady flow of magic straight at the panel. It was energy-consuming to do, but it was the best shot he had.

"Wait!" The Delightful Children snapped, "What are you doing!"

"Oh, I see what he's doing," Nigel whispered to Abby from behind the tree they were using as cover. "He's destroying the panels…excellent…he's not so dumb after all…"

"No…no he isn't. But he's gettin' tired fast. Look at him."

Kuki whimpered. "We have to go help him!"

"We can't," Nigel admitted.

"'Anger' isn't strong enough! He's got to use 'Happiness' for his magic- anger won't work fast enough!"

"That's true," Nigel said slowly, "If he overworks himself, he could temporarily use up his magic and tap into his life-force, which would kill him- wait, Numbah Three! Where are you going? Get back here! I _order _you to get back here!"

But he was just too late. Kuki was already taking off toward Wally.

"Numbah Four! Don't use anger! Use happiness!" She shouted over the loud hum.

Wally looked at her, confused. Then he remembered: Happiness was stronger than Anger, and he was getting tired fast. He looked down at the panel he was getting rid of now, and just in time. "KUKI, TAKE COVER!" Kuki darted back behind the tree just as the panel exploded, leaving shards of panel everywhere. The laser was useless. Wally jumped off the cannon, panting. He nearly got his head blown off by the second laser, which fired seconds after he hit the ground. Thankfully, he moved. There were shards of panel cutting holes all over his hoodie and puncturing his skin, but he didn't care. He back-flipped onto the second cannon just as it began collecting energy again. His hands automatically turned red with anger, but he knew that wouldn't work.

Kuki watched him, thinking. How could she make him use happiness…she paused. Suddenly, she jumped out from behind the tree. She knew what she needed to do. "WALLY!" She called, instantly grabbing his attention despite the noise around them. "I love you!"

Wally's red fire first turned pink with shock, and then immediately light blue with happiness. "Destroy the cannon!" Nigel called, snapping him out of his momentary daydream.

He turned is attention to the panel. Suddenly, the ship moved.

"Get off, you menace!" The Delightful Children said harshly, as their ship took flight. They didn't go high; they still wanted to be able to shoot at the rest of the KND.

Wally planted his feet, and began sending a steady flow of magic at the panel. It worked instantly, and just as the Delightful Children spun the ship upside down to get Wally off, the panel exploded.

"We'll be back!" The Delightful Children called, flying away in their ship, which was damaged beyond repair.

"Wally!" Kuki called and Wally came crashing to the ground. He landed on his feet in a cat-like manner, but found it hard to stand because of how tired he was.

Kuki quickly wrapped him in a warm embrace. "Wally, you did it!" She told him quietly, "You really, really did it."

Wally's eyelids grew heavy. He was exhausted. "Ah love you, too, Kuki." And with that, he passed out in her arms, a smile on his face.

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**Wow, that was kinda long.**

**But um…it's over.**

**Audience & me: -cries-**

**BUT I WILL WRITE A SEQUAL!**

**I WILL! I WILL, I WILL, I WILL!**

**MUAHAHAHA!**

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please review and come back to read the sequel!**

**-whistles with amazement-FIFTY REVIEWS! WOW!**

**Thanks again, guys!**

**lots o' luv,**

**jack**


End file.
